Financial Discrimination is Alive and Well

Financial Discrimination has not left the building.

Today we have a guest writer with there first-hand account of financial discrimination happening in our day.

Have you ever had a wonderful business idea, but there was no way that you could turn that idea into profit? That was exactly what happened to me. I did my research and was told that I had a well-written business plan. Below is my experience with financial discrimination due to bad credit and a member of the LGBT community.

In my case, one the biggest downsides is my bad credit. I admit making poor choices with my finances as a teen, but I don’t think that’s a reason to shun away a good idea. The business plan laid out the money needed to start, but also marked when I could pay the loan off.

The average small business loan never exceeds a seven-year term, and based on my calculations, they would have gotten a full return on their investment in less than five years.

The margins were very good and I knew that there was a market for the products and services that I was to offer.

Discrimination against bad credit is prevalent across the country. I’ve grown into a responsible adult. I believe that I should be given a second chance given the infallible growth that I’ve put a lot of research and calculations in the business plan.

I have matured over the years and now truly understand that in this country; without credit, you have nothing.

I believe that the other reason that I’ve been held back from this goal is my current location. You see, I’m an openly gay man. I live in a relatively small city on the buckle of the Bible belt. Although there are new changes and laws passed to make me an equal individual, in some places, there is still no equal.

LGBT financial discrimination is unfortunately not one of the liberties that were included in the life-changing Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. Sadly, there aren’t any laws that protect me from that discrimination.

You can still lose your job for being gay in my state.

They haven’t even added sexual orientation into their hate crimes legislation.

I went to different “cities” who I knew would give me a straightforward reason as to why they didn’t think it was such a great idea. I had two women say in two different Chamber’s of Commerce that they didn’t feel right approving the grant money because of my orientation.

They felt that my orientation would affect my business if I chose to be open about it. In other words, that would be a gross misuse of the county and city funds.

They would actually give the money to someone to steal than to a gay man.

They gave close to $200,000 to a heterosexual woman who opened a yogurt shop for two months. They paid for everything for her to start her business. It was opened for only two months and then one day she disappeared with the majority of the money that was given.

This isn’t all that is wrong with the financial discrimination of LGBT people.

There are so many other financial hurdles that a LGBT person must face, since legally we’re only somewhat equal. But we’re working on it.

Adoption

Second Parent Adoption

This adoption is put in place so that the non-biological parent can have full parental rights.

The Supreme court decision didn’t cover this either.

You have to cover your bases to make sure that in the event of death of the biological parent, the remaining parent can retain custody of the children.

Deeds, Estates, and other Legal Forms

Most of the legal forms still say “husband” and “wife” on them.

Although some states are a little more lax on the terminology, there are some surviving LGBT spouses who are to get nothing of the assets accrued with their spouse.

In some instances, you would have to incur extra costs by going to a lawyer and having the term “partner” replaced with the term “spouse.”

Discrimination in the Workplace

Some may not feel that this would be considered a form of financial discrimination, but I beg to differ.

The reason why people go to work is to draw a paycheck. Pure and simple.

Granted some people have a lot more work ethic than others, but at the end of the day; the paycheck is the main reason for leaving the house and commuting to work.

Without that paycheck, they have plenty of financial obligations, but no way to pay for them.

The lack of legislation in some areas to protect the LGBT community from being fired for being whom they are is atrocious.

The act of putting on a charade or keeping up a facade for employment lowers the employees morale and sometimes performance.

I’ve spent my time putting up the facade, but I got tired of not showing my employer the real me and what a happy employee could bring to the table.

Sometimes it worked out. Other times it didn’t.

One thing’s for sure, I had a better time at work knowing that I was being true to myself and my employer than having to hide in the proverbial closet.

Financial Aid for College

Same sex couples are yet to be recognized on the Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA)

Given this, there are times when the children of same sex parents are not receiving the full funding they may be entitled to since both parents are not recognized.

There are also different instances where trans gendered youth encounter major problems when applying due to gender identity and selective service requirements.

In summation, as a country, we still have a long way to go to have true equality for all. Life has a tendency of throwing a person curve balls. I’m still pursuing my dream of owning my own business. I know that it won’t be easy, but neither was the task of getting the rights that the LGBT community has now. Although I’m single and childless, I know that there are plenty of financial entities that work to protect my financial rights, such as, Wells Fargo and Skylight Financial to name a couple. I just urge everyone, no matter your orientation, to do the research before approaching a certain bank. The added time spent on research may just save you time and disappointment from the financial discrimination of some places.

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